We'll Be Okay
by hade5
Summary: Ben Hargreeves/OC — In which Vera just wanted to help a man clean up his act and hadn't really meant to sign up for the whole Klaus Hargreeves package. Not to mention his imaginary, dead brother who apparently, according to Klaus, has a massive crush on her.
1. Part I

**Title:** We'll Be Okay

**Pairing**: Ben Hargreeves/OC

**Summary:** In which Vera just wanted to help a man clean up his act and hadn't really meant to sign up for the whole Klaus Hargreeves package. Not to mention his imaginary, dead brother who apparently, according to Klaus, has a massive crush on her.

**A/N**: yeet this is kind of shittily written because it was the product of one late night and lots of bad-quality coffee but i love ben and he deserves the world. This is going to be a three-shot. Set before season 1 and then right after, but I didn't stick to the original ending for plot purposes.

* * *

**We'll Be Okay**

**※**

_And the earth still spins_

_The heart still beats to the devil within_

_But the angels_

_The angels, they found home_

**※**

* * *

**Part I**

Vera frowned down at the envelope in her hands. She had counted twice and the contents still weren't adding up. She narrowed her eyes and cast a glare upwards at the ceiling, having a strong suspicion as to who the culprit of her missing money was.

_Oh, for the love of..._

"KLAUS!"

Upon hearing no reply, Vera placed her hands on the dining room table and pushed herself up. She stormed up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. Following the sound of stamping feet—what on earth was he doing again—Vera pushed the guest room's door open and repeated furiously, "Klaus."

Before she could get very far in the lecture she'd planned out in her head, the man in question had grabbed her wrist and tugged hard on it, pulling her close. Vera groaned when Klaus began to shift from foot to foot in a slow dance, humming to a random tune she didn't recognize. From how sharp his turns and spins were, she gathered that he probably hadn't done this many times before with a girl. His hands were cool, like they always were. Vera frowned. She'd expressed her concern a short while after they had first met—nobody's hands were that cold all the time—but Klaus had brushed it off, seeming wildly unconcerned.

Vera exhaled, exasperation flooding through her, but she humored him for a brief moment before finally snapping her eyes to his face and upon seeing his pleased expression, she just _knew. _Seeing that he wasn't planning on stopping this dance anytime soon, she reached up with her free hand and snatched the headphones off his head.

"_Klaus."_

"Vera, my love!" Klaus finally exclaimed, dragging his gaze down to meet hers. A wide grin spread out over his face, and his eyes lit up like he had just noticed she was in the room. "Has my brother ever told you how _beautiful_ you are?"

Vera arched an eyebrow. "The one who's dead and who really likes my eyes?"

"Yes, that's the one!"

"Funny," Vera quipped, ripping her hand away from him and propped it up on her hip. She gave Klaus a skeptical look. "Somehow I always hear about this mysterious admirer when either you're in trouble or you _want_ something from me."

"What?" Klaus's shoulders dropped down and he adopted puppy dog eyes, clasping his hands in front of him as though he were praying. He denied with emphasis, "I would _never_ milk Ben's infatuation with you for all it's worth."

"Hm."

"Honest, I'd _never_ lie to you."

Vera barked out a laugh, her expression incredulous. She waved the envelope in his face."Klaus, you _stole_ a hundred dollars from me!"

Klaus spread his hands. "Well if you _must_ know, it was for charity."

"...charity."

"Yes, for poor me." He threw up a hand to his forehead in an exaggerated swoon and his voice cracked dramatically. "I've had a _really _rough life."

Now, Vera was a fairly non-violent person, preferring to solve her problems with words rather than her fists, but at that moment she briefly contemplated strangling Klaus with one of his feather boas. And then she realized he would probably thank her for that and so she scratched the idea.

"Klaus, that money is for _emergencies._" Vera emphasized, upset. This was the _second _time he'd done something like this. "I thought you were finally clean! Our deal was that you could stay here for as long as you wanted but you would at least _try _to—"

"V, listen...will you shut _up_?!"

She raised her eyebrows indignantly. She had half a mind to just kick him out of her house that instant, but that would probably only give him even more incentive to go off and get high. "_Excuse _me?"

"Not...not you." Klaus declared, waving a hand dismissively in her direction. He turned his head to the right. Vera's eyebrows furrowed and she followed his gaze to the empty air above the end of her bed. _What's he looking at? _"Look, I'm trying to _talk_ to her. Would you...you do know she doesn't think you exist so even if I apologize, that wouldn't really help you in any way, right?"

Clearly still arguing, Klaus whined and stomped one foot on the ground like a child. Vera stared, trying to see any pattern on her bedsheets that might resemble anything close to a human head. "But, Ben...!"

Ah, so it was his brother this time then.

It seemed that whatever mental battle was going on with him and his imaginary sibling, Klaus had lost, because he eventually fished a wrinkled bill out of his back pocket and sullenly handed it towards Vera. "He threatened me with the silent treatment."

"Well," Vera sighed. She stuffed the bill back into her envelope, resolving to hide it somewhere Klaus _wouldn't _be able to get to. Even though she didn't believe a single word he said and didn't really want to encourage his fantasies, she couldn't help but quip, "Then thank your brother for me. He's a better man than you."

"Oh, he can hear you." Klaus grumbled, casting another look in the direction of her bed. Vera was caught off guard when his bad mood seemed to immediately dissipate and a hysterical laugh burst from Klaus's throat. She swung around to stare at her bed once again. _What is he looking at?_

"Ben, are you _blushing_?"

**※**

"Klaus...where did you get this necklace?"

"Oh, that! I stole it. Ben was looking at it kind of funny when we passed by the store so I assumed he would have liked to see it on your pretty little neck."

"_Klaus._"

**※**

Vera lifted the flowers and frowned at the candles. The food that had been prepared actually smelled _good_. "Klaus...what is all this?"

"Ben's been looking a little mopey lately so I thought maybe you could sit down and he could pretend to be having dinner with you. It's a bit pathetic—said with _love_ Ben, sorry man—but I promise to make myself scarce."

"...I'm not letting you drive my car, Klaus."

**※**

Vera found out rather early on that Klaus could either sleep until the late hours of the afternoon or wake up at the crack of dawn. It all depended on his daily...activities. When he did manage to wake up early though, she always dragged him to the coffee shop she owned, hoping that getting him into a regular routine would help moderate his cravings.

However, after his whole thieving fiasco the week before, Vera had made it her mission to drag him to the shop every morning whether or not he preferred to be asleep. It was surprisingly easy on her part since Klaus was alarmingly skinny, but the promise of free, warm drinks and a hot breakfast probably helped.

"How's your job-hunting going?" Vera wrapped an apron around her waist, fingers deftly tying a bow behind her back. She shot a look over her shoulder. "Get off the counter, Klaus."

Klaus let out a long-suffering sigh at her command. He slowly climbed off the surface he had been sprawled out on.

"There wouldn't happen to be a job opening at this coffee shop, would there?" Klaus picked at his nails.

Vera swung around, still holding the pan the eggs were sizzling in. "You know there isn't. Why?"

"Well that would save me a lot of work." Klaus pursed his lips. "Also I bet Ben thinks you look absolutely ravishing in your waitress uniform, because why else would he suggest it."

Heat flooded into Vera's cheeks. See, it was times like these when she wondered if Klaus had developed _feelings_ towards her because why else would he _say_ such things when he wasn't trying to get money or her car?

"Legs for days..." Klaus droned on, smirking infuriatingly and dragging his gaze down her body. "Know what I mean?"

"_Klaus_." The red in Vera's cheeks deepened and one of her hands came down to tug unconsciously at the edge of her uniform skirt. "That's wildly inappropriate."

Klaus simply shot a smug look next to him and wiggled his fingers in what seemed to be a taunting gesture. Like always, Vera's gaze followed his only to meet the usual empty air.

"Sorry." He sounded far from apologetic. Klaus pointed at her with a bagel. "It's just...you know sometimes he looks at you like you're a dish he'll never be able to taste and it's a pity because I know for a fact that he probably wants those legs wrapped around his—"

Vera had been fully prepared to chuck her spatula at Klaus to get him to shut up, but it seemed the voices in his head had managed to get him to do so instead. Though he stopped talking, Klaus giggled on for a few minutes, a couple snorts slipping in here and there.

Vera sighed. She swore she had aged ten years ever since meeting Klaus.

"But in other news, I'm dismally unqualified for all the online job postings I've found." Klaus let out an exaggerated sigh.

Vera frowned, mildly surprised at the fact that he actually sounded upset about it. "Oh."

She was so busy thinking about solutions that she missed the hopeful expression that crawled across Klaus's face, one which usually appeared when he found out a way to circumvent her rules. Seeing no other option, Vera relented.

"There's no job opening here and I can't afford to take on another staff member, but...if you need, you can borrow my car to drop off any applications you need."

Klaus climbed over the counter and she groaned, knowing that she would need to wipe it down again. Ignoring her annoyed expression, Klaus threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "You're the _best_, V."

She hugged him back but pulled away after a few seconds and pointed a warning finger at him.

"But _no_ getting high, you hear me?"

**※**

"Klaus, why are there five tubs of chocolate in the freezer?"

"Mm. Good question. Gonna wax my ass. Want to watch?"

"I really...really don't."

"Well, your loss, V."

"You are so _weird_."

"Thank you."

**※**

"Do you want a massage?"

"Er...thanks Klaus, but no. Why...? _Don't_ say it's because of your brother."

"...Ok, I won't."

**※**

Vera frowned suspiciously, unease flitting through her when the man at the door turned around to face her. He was massive, with broad shoulders and sizeable, meaty fists that looked like they could take out an entire gang themselves. She was quickly regretting not checking who was at the door before opening it, but in her defense, she had thought it was just Klaus and he'd forgotten to bring his keys with them.

"Can I help you?"

"Hello, gorgeous." An ugly grin spread over his face. "I think you can, actually. I'm looking for Klaus."

Vera stiffened. "He's not here, I'm afraid. Can I pass along a message?"

The man didn't reply for the longest of moments and her unease only grew. His gaze searched the room behind her, as though he thought she was lying and Klaus was in there somewhere, hidden under a coffee table or something.

"Sir..."

Upon hearing her voice, the man looked back down at her. He must not have found what he was looking for because a displeased expression grew on his face, though the ugly smile widened.

"Yes...yes you can. You'll do _just_ nicely."

Her instincts kicked in with full force, but even then Vera was unable to close the door fast enough and the blow that came sent her staggering backwards. She yelped, touching her nose and pulling her hand away to see blood decorating her fingertips. Vera's hand trembled with fear.

A stinging pain registered at the back of her head and she was yanked backwards by her ponytail. She screamed, struggling towards the doorway in a futile attempt to escape and watched with dismay as the man kicked the door shut. His hands dug painfully into her arms and a foot connected harshly with her ribs. She cried out, desperately trying to move away from the attacker.

Vera lashed out a hand, clawing his face and breaking the skin there. He hissed and in retaliation, his fingernails dug into her arm deeper, drawing blood. She tried to knee him in the balls, but with one foot, he had her legs immobilized.

The man's hand lashed across her face one more time and Vera tasted the coppery taste of blood on her tongue when she bit down on it.

"Tell Klaus," his breath was rancid and blew across her face and he tugged sharply on her hair for emphasis. Vera whimpered, trying not to choke on the blood in her mouth. "That I want my money. Nobody steals drugs from me and doesn't pay for them. If he doesn't pay me back by next week, I'm coming for _you_. And next time, you won't be so lucky."

He slapped her cheek. "That's my message. Be a doll and pass it on."

**※**

"I'm hooome!"

She was barely cognizant enough to register the front door opening and closing. Her head was still spinning, even though it had been a solid half hour since the attacker had left. All she had been able to do was curl up into a ball and try to wait the pain out.

"Hey, V...shit, what happened to you?" Klaus's feet stumbled over the threshold.

"You stole drugs." It wasn't a question. Her voice was laced with anger and disappointment, and she could hardly bring herself to look at Klaus. She didn't think she could even if she wanted to. Her left eye was swelling up rapidly, throbbing insanely and it took everything she had not to start crying again.

"How do you know that? Are you...are you psychic? You should...you should meet my siblings." His voice was in a low and conspiratorial whisper. "But V, seriously...what happened?"

Vera threw a piece of the shattered vase at his head, but with his swaying figure and one of her eyes swollen shut, she missed. "What do you _think _happened?"

She cupped her jaw. As soon as she had spoken, the pain had exploded once again. "The drug dealer you _stole _from paid me a visit. How did he know where we live, Klaus? Huh?"

"Shit...he did this? I'm...I'm sorry..." His gait was unsteady, and Klaus made his way over in a zig-zag path. Klaus reached down with both hands spread in an apologetic gesture. "It got really bad and I just...couldn't resist..."

"You _stole_ drugs!" Vera brought her hands up to beat ineffectually at Klaus's chest, pushing him backwards even as he tried to help her up. "I _trusted_ you. I thought you were _serious_ about getting better!"

"I am!" Klaus's words were uneven and drawn out, as though he couldn't piece together the sentence he wanted to. Vera's eyes widened.

"Are you high right _now_?" She let out an incredulous scoff and her voice went one octave higher. "_Unbelievable_."

Klaus groaned, rolling his head back and closing his eyes. He raked a hand through his curly black hair and looked off to the side. "Ben, help me out here."

"_Stop_! Stop doing that!"

Klaus froze in his tracks and turned his head to face her. She had never raised her voice to this extent before. "What?"

Vera swept her hand across the floor angrily, ignoring the cutting pain of another shard digging into her palm. "Stop using your _imaginary_, dead brother as some sort of escape mechanism! You are responsible for your actions and no one else!"

Despite his unfocused eyes, Klaus actually looked hurt. He recoiled. "Why do you _care_ so much about me getting clean?"

"What?" Vera glared at him.

"I'm not your brother, V."

Vera stilled, blood running cold. How did he...

Her voice was soft and dangerously icy as she demanded, "What did you say?"

"I said..." Klaus slurred, rubbing at his eyes and smudging the eyeliner on his face. "I'm not your brother. You know, overdose boy. Died in your arms?"

Vera's lips parted and a strangled noise escaped her throat. She had never told him about Eric. It was one of her most closely guarded secrets and any remaining proof of his existence and health issues were securely locked away, where she wouldn't have to face the pain of the memory of miserably she had failed her brother.

If he knew...that would mean...but he couldn't. He couldn't know.

"Get out."

"V..."

"_Get_. _Out_."

For once, Klaus had nothing to say, no witty comment or smart-ass comeback. His hands hovered over her helplessly for a few more seconds before he lurched to his feet.

"Yeah...I'll uh...I'll leave. My father just died anyway and well, I have to go to the old bastard's funeral, I guess. Pay my respects and all."

Vera didn't reply.

"I'm sorry."

**※**

He didn't come back the next day. Or the day after.

**※**

Vera took the entire week off, resigned to the fact that she would be stuck at home until the very visible injuries on her face had faded.

She stared at herself in the mirror. Her cheek was hideously swollen and she'd been unable to clean off some of the dried blood next to her lip since that was where the worst of the pain was. She wiped a hand on the mirror, clearing away some of the condensation. Her bare shoulders were bruised from the man's grip, just like her torso where his booted feet had made their impact.

As she headed towards the living room, she sighed when she saw the shattered vase still lying there on the floor and went to go find a broom. It had been her mother's favorite vase, but that was gone now, wasn't it? Just like everything else she had come to love.

While sweeping up the shards, she heard a small _swish_ and looked towards the entrance to her apartment.

A folded piece of paper had been slipped under the door.

She frowned and picked it up, turning it over to see who it was addressed to, but there was no mailing address or recipient name. Vera opened the door cautiously and glanced around. No one was there.

She set the broom against the wall and opened it curiously.

It was in Klaus's handwriting.

If not for the messy scrawl, she wasn't sure she would believe it was from him. The writing was on thick, expensive stationary that she was certain Klaus would never waste a penny on. In the corner was a an intricate watermark of an circle circumscribing an umbrella._ Weird symbol, _she thought.

She swallowed and smoothed out the creases on the paper.

_V_

_I don't really know how to start this letter, honestly. I do my best thinking when I'm not sober, haha. Fuck. Shit, look, I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to be caught up in that. I took care of Hammer. He won't be paying you anymore visits._

_About your brother...I'm sorry for using him against you. I don't care if you were helping me because of his memory or not. _

_You saved me._

_He says you've grown into a strong and beautiful woman. And that you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to him. He wants you to stop thinking of him like that...those last moments of his life. He wants you to remember him as the older brother who tucked you in when your parents weren't home, as the one who bought you raspberry sherberts when you were sad. He wants you to remember him not as the brother you didn't save, but as the brother who loved you so much that if he could do anything, he would go back and change all his decisions and make sure you would never have to cry alone in your room ever again._

_Ugh well those were his words and besides that, this is a pretty shitty letter overall but I don't really write these things much. Actually, I don't think I've ever written a letter at all before._

_I guess what I'm trying to say is...sorry. It's like that's all I've been saying to you ever since you picked me up, huh?_

_You might not believe it, but I am trying to get clean. One of my brothers is helping me with that._

_And...I have to go away soon to do something, but I hope you will one day be able to forgive me._

_Love,_

_Klaus_

_P.S. I can tell Ben is worried about you and misses you, so please take care of yourself. He will actually haunt me forever if something else happens to you._

Vera's hand had come up to rest on her lips in astonishment as she read Klaus's letter. He had written things..._personal_ things that he shouldn't have any knowledge of.

A thought struck her.

Vera took the stairs two steps at a time, making her way quickly towards her bedroom and only slowing down once she had reached the doorway. She flicked on the light to her room and made her way cautiously towards her closet.

Chewing on her lip, Vera reached out a hesitant hand.

It was _impossible..._right?

Her fingers curled around the knob and she pulled the doors open.

Her trunk was there in the exact spot she'd left it in all those years ago. Vera knelt down and lifted up the heavy lock with two fingers.

A heavy layer of dust lay over the silver metal, covering even the keyhole. Vera let the lock drop back down and her lips parted with growing realization.

It had never been opened.

**※**

Vera walked up the steps to her apartment, head down as she hunted in her bag for her keys. She sighed, making a mental reminder to get a ring for the assortment of keys she had. The last one had conveniently broken when she'd been locking up the coffee shop the other day. That had been the last straw for one hell of a shitty week and she'd spent a good ten minutes in her car just crying.

When she finally did find the right key she was looking for, she looked up. And froze.

"Hi, V."

She hardly dared look at his face, the memories of the last week rushing back into her mind. Eventually getting over her shock at finding him standing outside her apartment, her eyes glanced Klaus up and down, surprise growing as she took in how different he looked. Gone was his usual and flamboyant leather clothing and feathers. In their place was a green jacket with the arms ripped out. It looked almost like army-issued clothing, though not from this decade. A tattoo decorated his upper left arm. _Had that been there before?_

When her eyes finally travelled back up to rest on his face, she sucked in a slow breath before letting it out. "Hi."

"You look better."

"...thanks." Vera's hand unconsciously came up to rest on her face. The swelling had gone down drastically, and all that was left as proof of the assault was a yellowing bruise.

Klaus smiled weakly and gestured down to his suitcase. "I don't suppose you would have it in your kind soul to let me stay for a little while? Just until I sort my life back together."

A list of all the reasons why she _shouldn't _let him in ran through her thoughts and Vera chewed on her bottom lip. "I..."

"Will you let me explain things? Please?"

Vera released a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. His voice sounded vulnerable and _earnest_, and it chipped away any of her remaining resolve. And she cursed herself for this decision, but she didn't have much of a choice because as much as she didn't want to admit...she had _missed_ Klaus.

She unlocked the door and could feel Klaus standing behind her uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he was welcome. Vera angled her body to the side and waved a hand half-heartedly at him.

"Come in."

**※**

They sat in silence, with Klaus giving her furtive looks as though he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. Vera's hands were buried in her hair and she stared off into space, dumbfounded.

"So...you really can talk to the dead."

"I can."

"And you...you had to stop the apocalypse with your siblings? In one week?"

"Not to brag, but yes, I had a major hand in that."

Vera groaned and put her face in her hands. "You realize how difficult it is for me to believe you, right?"

"I know." Klaus gave her a small grin and tapped the side of his head. "But even as crazy as this thing is, I don't think I could have made that story up."

"And...my brother has talked to you?"

"He did."

Vers fell silent and clasped her hands together, staring down at the table. She chewed on her lip. "How...how is he?"

"He's doing quite well. No drugs on the other side so he's had time to re-evaluate his life...no wait death...or...yeah, death choices." Klaus tapped his chin as he tried to think of the right word to use. He shook his head. "He's made quite a few friends."

"And the drugs for you then..." Vera wasn't sure she wanted to hear him confirm her suspicion because that would mean that she had been so, _so_ wrong about Klaus.

"They used to help...with the voices." Klaus's cheerful expression slipped for just the shortest of seconds but it didn't matter, because Vera had seen it and at that moment she felt like the worst person in the world.

"God..."

"It's just me, Klaus."

Vera snorted but shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Klaus. I...I didn't..."

"Hey." Klaus set on her his hands on hers comfortingly, and Vera looked up at him in surprise. His voice was calm and serious, something she'd never known Klaus to be in all the time that they had spent together. Something had changed him. He was _different_ somehow. "You have _nothing_ to be sorry for. They were leading me to an early death, I understand that now. If not for you...well, I might be in a ditch somewhere."

He paused for a moment and then shuddered. "And _ugh,_ then I might have to see my father again. _Now you'll never be afraid of them, _he'll say. What a dick."

Klaus yammered on about the pain of an ass he called a father and Vera found herself smiling inwardly. Oh, how she had _missed_ him.

Then a flash of realization hit Vera.

"Wait...if you really can talk to the dead then...then when you kept saying things about your dead brother...I thought you weren't...you were _serious_?"

"As a heart attack."

Vera's jaw fell open in shock for the umpteenth time that day. "And that _really_ nice dinner that one time...with the flowers ...they _weren't_ a bribe to get me to lend you my car?"

"No, no they weren't. Ben's a bit of a hopeless romantic, you see. Who would have thought?" Klaus sighed dramatically and smirked at the air next to Vera. "I felt bad for him, because you know—dead and all—he probably can't get a girl, it was the least I could do for him."

And then a mischievous glint entered Klaus's eyes and Vera peered at him suspiciously.

"Why...why are you smiling like that?"

"Would you like to meet him?"

"Meet..." Vera pulled her hands back, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean..._meet_?"

Klaus didn't reply to her question. Instead, he raised his hands, placing them firmly on the table before him.

There was a brief moment of absolute stillness.

And then his hands started to _glow._

A brilliant, blue light flooded from between his fingers, illuminating the rickety table and wooden floorboards beneath them. It was _electric_, the color of lightning hitting ocean waves, coursing and pulsing.

Vera recoiled violently, shooting out of her chair and pressing back against the kitchen counter behind her. "Klaus, what the..."

And then in the chair next to the one she had been sitting in, something..._someone_ appeared. At first a translucent bright blue, similar to the color of the light coming from Klaus's hands, and then the edges of the figure began to solidify.

Vera's breath trembled, eyes never leaving the form shimmering into view in front of her.

"How..."

_No way._

"Hey, I did it." Klaus appeared pleased, a mildly surprised grin passing over his face. He turned his head to the side. "Dave look, he's even more solid this time."

Vera wasn't paying attention to whatever Klaus was saying. Instead, she stood stock still, hardly daring to move a muscle as the figure stood up from the chair and turned around to face her.

"He's...you're real."

Her eyes drank in the sight of Klaus's brother. She wasn't sure what she had expected the person she thought Klaus had been imagining to look like, but this was certainly not it.

"Hello."

Klaus's brother was..._absurdly_ handsome. With hair darker than the night sky, high cheekbones, and Cupid's bow lips, Vera nearly forgot how to breathe. Her eyes traced down his features to his strong jawline, drinking in all that she could see. He wore all black, from a black leather jacket tossed over a hoodie to black boots.

Absently, without thinking, she stretched out a hand tentatively, nearly drawing back a few times. Ben Hargreeves matched her motion but his hand came up more readily, as though he'd been waiting for this moment for the longest time. When her fingertips met his, a feeling of mild disappointment coursed through her as her hand passed right through his.

When Vera finally regained her ability to speak, she said shakily, "It's nice to finally meet Klaus's voice of reason."

Ben laughed, and Vera found herself instantly drawn towards the sound of his voice. He looked at her and she met his gaze. _His eyes are brown_. She stepped a little closer. _A deep, earthy brown. Brown like the sweetest of chocolates._

"It's nice to finally be seen by you, Vera."

She found that she quite liked the way her name rolled off his tongue and Vera blushed, ducking her head and bringing a hand up hesitantly to sweep a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She felt uncharacteristically self-conscious, though she didn't have the wildest clue as to why. Maybe it was the fact that she had spent the longest time trying to convince Klaus that the voices in his head weren't real and yet here she was...talking to one of them. And he seemed _nice_.

Ben smiled, and it was so _sweet,_ with the barest hints of shyness.

Vera felt the corners of her lips turn up into a mirroring smile.

"...Oh, Christ." Klaus complained. "You two are going to be disgusting to be around, aren't you?"

**※**

"Dave, look away. I'm going to vomit. They're giving each other goo-goo eyes."

"Shut up, Klaus."


	2. Part II

**Part II**

Ben Hargreeves falls _hard_.

* * *

He's never had that much experience with girls, being well...dead and all, and not a lot of dead girls are that fun to be around. So when he's crouched next to his brother one day, getting quite bored while repeating Klaus's name over and over in an attempt to see if his brother would get up off the ground anytime soon, he's distracted by a pair of dirty white shoes and long, slender legs that stops next to the two.

The girl crouches down, tilting her umbrella to shield Klaus from the rain. She frowns and places two fingers on his brother's carotid artery, seeming to feel for his pulse. Ben watches quietly, hoping that she's not some sort of weirdo who might take advantage of Klaus. Because if she is, there's nothing he can do to stop it from happening.

She shakes him and Ben's surprised to see that Klaus actually responds to the touch. He'd been shouting at his brother for a good ten minutes and still hadn't gotten any reply.

"Whaa...Ben...? How are you doing that?" Klaus slurs.

Ben sighs, but notes that the girl doesn't seem all too phased by his incoherence. It's almost like she's used to it.

"You'll freeze to death out here."

Klaus doesn't answer her.

She purses her lips and tries again, "Do you have somewhere to go?"

_No. No, he doesn't. Help him. Please._

Ben thinks that maybe if he wishes hard enough, it'll somehow come true.

And by some miracle, it works.

* * *

She sets Klaus down on the couch, a worn but comfortable looking thing. Drawing a blanket up to his chin, she smoothes back his messy hair and her lips turn down in an almost sad frown.

He notices her hands the most. With long and slender fingers, they seem like a pianist's hands. They're firm, acting with purpose and good intentions. They're gentle, caressing with the softest of touches.

He wonders what her hands feel like.

Ben watches as she cleans Klaus's dirty face with a washcloth, watches as she places a bucket on the ground next to the couch. _In case he throws up. _He wonders briefly where her experience comes from.

He watches as she treats him with care, care that Klaus has never once received in his life, apart from Mom.

She sits by Klaus all night, making sure he doesn't choke in his sleep.

And for the first time, Ben thinks that...maybe Klaus will be alright.

* * *

"My name is Vera."

_Vera. _

It's pretty, just like her.

"You can stay here for as long as you want, Klaus, under one condition. You have to promise me that you will get _clean_."

Ben starts to wonder if she's actually an angel fallen from heaven.

* * *

Somehow, she doesn't get sick of Klaus. He stays with her for a day and Ben can't help but wonder when Klaus will finally run away again.

But he doesn't.

He stays another day, and the day after that.

And then Ben realizes with a start that Klaus is no longer high all the time anymore. He still buys drugs sometimes, when she's not looking, but something's different now.

It's because of _her_, he realizes. She's _good_ for him.

* * *

She's a waitress, he learns.

She starts occasionally taking Klaus to the coffee shop she owns and as his brother nurses his occasional hangover or inhales the food she makes for him, Ben watches her, watches because that's the only thing he can do.

He notices the small things, the way she chews on her lip when she's thinking hard, the way she hums almost inaudibly when she's cooking. She sways sometimes, in a dance all in her head, when she thinks no one is looking.

She has wide eyes, honest and warm. He wants to know more about them, wants to know why there's a hint of sadness buried deep in them and why it becomes so pronounced when she's looking at Klaus.

She has an infectious smile. It's the type of smile that makes the rest of the world slow down.

The coffee shop isn't far from where he used to live. And Ben can't help but imagine. He imagines a different time and place, imagines that he's not dead and that she can see him.

Would she look at him with those eyes, so kind and accepting?

Would she smile at him like that, with a smile that feels like the sun has been plucked from the sky and placed in his heart?

He looks back at his brother and feels a twinge of jealousy, that Klaus is _alive_ and _breathing_ and she can _see_ him.

"Ben would _love _this pastry, wouldn't you, Ben?"

He rolls his eyes at Klaus but does gaze at the dessert wistfully. And then she opens her mouth and his attention is dragged back to her.

"Who's Ben?"

_Ben._ That's _his_ name, coming from her lips.

And he realizes he really, _really_ likes it.

* * *

Ben wanders around the house curiously, passing through walls easily and turning his head here and there to take in the details.

He passes through the living room wall. And stills.

She's staring right at him, eyes wide and searching. For a brief, _fleeting_ moment, Ben forgets that he's dead.

_Can she see me?_

And then he turns around and realizes with no small amount of disappointment that she's looking at her reflection in the mirror. But he breathes out a sigh of relief anyway.

His relief doesn't last long because it's then that she curls her fingers under the bottom of her shirt and pulls it up over her head, tossing it onto the ground next to her. Ben's throat goes dry. He's frozen in place, unable to make a move even as she strips off her jeans as well.

It's only until her hands reached behind her to unhook her bra does Ben jolt into action. He stumbles out of the bathroom and back into the living room.

Klaus finds him a half an hour later, sitting on the ground staring blankly at nothing.

"Why is your face so red?"

* * *

Klaus is at it again.

Ben lounges on the bed, watching his brother try to loot the cosmetics bag for money. He'll never understand where Klaus gets the idea that people hide valuables in places like coffee pots or inside pillow cases.

"You should just quit while you're ahead."

"Shut up, Ben. Go die in a hole."

"_Ouch. _That hurt."

"Just speaking my mind, you know I love you."

"Klaus. What do you think you're doing?"

Ben straightens, looking towards the doorway to the bedroom.

And he _stares._

She's all dolled up, in pink lipstick and a blue off-the-shoulder dress that shows off more of her figure than anything else he's ever seen her wear.

"V! Just...you know, seeing what brand of eyeliner you use...you always look so _gorgeous._"

She's unimpressed. "I don't keep money in there, Klaus."

"I wasn't...ok, _fine_."

Ben doesn't hear the two start arguing because he's still looking at her, at the way her hair is pulled up into a bun, leaving her neck bare and so _kissable_.

"Are you going out, V?" Klaus leans casually against the wall, as though this is his room and he _hadn't_ just been trying to steal money.

She sighs deeply but shakes her head. "I just came back from a date, actually."

Ben feels something rise up in his chest, something uncomfortable and tight squeezing him until it's hard to breathe.

"Oh? How did it go? Did you get _lucky_?"

She lifts a hand up to her head and pulls out some pins, her hair tumbling down to her shoulders in waves. "No, it went poorly. He was rather dull, I think."

And suddenly that weird feeling in his chest is gone and he feels so much lighter.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I bet you're _fantastic_ in bed."

"...I'm going to make some tea. Stay out of my room, Klaus."

He watches her turn away, the skirt of her dress dancing around her thighs.

He doesn't notice the wide grin that creeps across Klaus's face, at least not until she's left the room and Ben looks back at his brother. The expression he finds on his face is unsettling, all too knowing and too amused.

"What?"

"You _like_ her."

"..."

"This is too good. You like _V_!"

"Shut up, Klaus."

* * *

"She's my biggest regret, you know. If I could just go back, I would change everything."

It takes Ben a while to realize that someone is speaking to him, but when he does, he turns and sees Eric standing behind him. He'll never get used to the sight of the man's bloody head injury, a result of tripping while high and hitting his head on a table. Ben is infinitely grateful that Klaus had been saved before something tragic like that would have happened to him eventually.

When Ben doesn't reply, her brother speaks again. "You like her."

He contemplates denying it but he knows it's useless. Klaus has probably divulged too much information for him to cover it up.

"I do."

Eric just nods.

"It's hard not to love her."

* * *

The blood on her face _terrifies_ him.

He kneels next to her, hands framing her face even though she can't see him, and he feels an overwhelming sense of helplessness, something he hasn't felt since Klaus finally got off the streets.

She's _hurt_.

And Ben will gladly put words into Klaus's mouth, will do anything to erase that heartbreaking expression off her face, but his brother is high—_again_—and can't even string together a proper sentence.

"Klaus!" He's never been this angry before. Never been so angry since realizing that he was the only one of his siblings who cared about Klaus's well-being.

And despite it all, Klaus just leaves her there, on the ground and bleeding.

At that moment, Ben wants nothing more than to come back alive just to punch some sense into his brother.

* * *

And then he gets the chance a few days later.

The white pills fly out of Klaus's mouth violently, scattering all over the floor.

It feels so _good_. Satisfying.

Ben stares at his hands.

_How_...?

"Owww! You just Patrick Swayze'd me!"

* * *

"He's...you're real."

She's adorably flustered and blushing madly and he can't help but grin.

"It's nice to finally be seen by you, Vera."

It's every bit like he'd imagined and _more_. Because she's looking at him, she _sees_ him. And there's an inexplicable swelling in his chest and he feels so _happy_ he nearly bursts. It's the first time someone besides his family is seeing him and he's so glad it's _her_.

It feels like he had been drowning for the longest time and she's the first breath of air he's taken.

* * *

"Klaus. I don't ask much from you, do I?"

Klaus narrows his eyes. "Famous last words."

"Will you do something for me? Please?"

* * *

She looks around, frowning. "Where's Klaus?"

"I asked him to give us some uh...privacy."

"Oh. Well, I'm not complaining." Her lips turn up into a smile and he feels something flutter inside him.

She sets the plate down in front of her and sits down. It's a quiet affair, without Klaus around to break the comfortable silence with his ridiculous ideas and crass comments. But it works for them.

Ben props his chin up on his folded hands, content to just watch her eat.

"You look beautiful."

He grins when the blush blossoms on her cheeks. It's been nearly a month and a half since she'd first laid eyes upon him, but he'll never get tired of that, of making her lose her composure.

"Ben, you can't just _say_ those things when I'm..."

She trails off, cheeks reddening even more when she sees his smile widen. She huffs out a breath and gets up from the table to put the dishes in the sink. He chuckles. Once she's done rinsing the plate and cup, she lathers her hands in soap and rinses them, drying them off on the towel while humming absently to herself.

He stands up and moves towards her, wishing, hoping desperately that Klaus is strong enough to make this work.

She doesn't notice him approach her, doesn't see him lift his hand and pause for the briefest of moments before sliding it cautiously onto her hip. And then her head snaps up, lips parting in astonishment and he can hear her breaths tremble as she turns.

"_Oh_..."

She lifts her other hand to her face, fingers shaking and touching her lips as she stares down at his hand. _Touching_ her. He can't quite believe it either, and he follows her gaze.

There's a long pause and Ben almost starts to feel like he's done something wrong. But then suddenly she's lifting her hands to touch his face, fingers smoothing over his cheeks, through his hair, and back down to rest on either side of his neck. He closes his eyes, leaning into her touch. She laughs, but it sounds more like a choked out sob. "Hi."

His other hand comes down to fall on the other side of her hip, tightening like he's afraid of letting go and he tips his head down so their foreheads touch. She's so _warm_. His voice is a mixture of relief and overwhelming exhilaration. "Hi."

She gazes up at him hungrily, eyes searching his features as though she's committing everything about this moment to her memory. He knows _he _certainly is.

Ben leans down, lips so close to hers that he can _feel_ them, can feel her breath on his skin.

"May I?"

She smiles breathtakingly. "_Yes_."

Their kiss is innocent and sinful all at once, slow and fast, hard yet soft. It's like something out of a dream. It's hopeful, it's a promise of all she has to offer him and he still can't quite believe it but he knows he never wants it to end.

She tastes like stormy evenings and spring mornings.

She makes him feel _alive_.

* * *

_May the darkness within you find peace in the light._

Ben looks at her and thinks it finally has.


	3. Bonus

**Bonus**

Forks and spoons clattered onto the table and everyone, save for Ben, stared disbelievingly at Klaus.

"What do you mean, Ben has a _girlfriend_?"

"Are you high again?"

"When did this happen?"

"Is she also...you know, dead?"

Klaus ignored most of the incredulous questions apart from the last one, to which he was all to eager to reply to.

"No, V's a living, breathing bad bitch. I love her. One might even call her my sugar mommy—though she never gave me a penny, unfortunately—because she helped me get through things when they were bad." He couldn't resist adding, "A soft-spoken gal most of the time, but I bet she's minx between the sheets."

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, frustration evident in his tone. "Klaus, that's probably _not_ the introduction she would want."

Their siblings just stared at the two, all too familiar with their back-and-forths by now and probably still in shock from Klaus's bombshell revelation.

"Well it's better than anything you would come up with. 'Beautiful eyes' my tight and delicious _ass_, have you not seen the rest of her body?"

"_Klaus_."

Luther held up his hands, pausing the argument. "How are we just hearing about this now?"

"Well, I didn't really think it would go anywhere. Ben doesn't exactly seem like he has game, does he?" Klaus sighed dramatically and leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head. To be honest, he wasn't too sure about how they had arrived at this topic. One moment they had been talking about Pogo's new theory on how to anchor Ben to make him fully corporeal, and then suddenly they were here...talking about V. Not that he minded. He was all for talking about his best friend forever. "...But then he sucked face with her last week and I thought, oh, maybe it's real."

There was a long pause as everyone's processed Klaus's words and then the conversation was dominated by questions again.

"...sucked face?"

"How did _that_ happen?"

"Will we get to meet her?"

"Is she hot?"

"Five...that is _so_ not the point here."

"How does the sex work?"

"Diego!"

"I'm serious, Allison. But like, really...is Klaus there?"

"An excellent concept." Klaus beamed and looked expectantly towards Ben, opening his mouth to suggest something.

Ben glowered at him. "I would rather die again."

Klaus's face fell and he pouted, disappointed. He was all for trying new things and since Ben and Dave were dead and he and V weren't...well, he had _lots_ of ideas.

_One day_, he promised.

One day he would get his way.

A thought popped into his mind. _Oh_! He'd _almost_ forgotten. Klaus dug around in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled photograph, slamming it down in the center of the table for all to see. "This is what she looks like, if you're curious."

All the siblings leaned forward. He heard Ben ask him, a mildly disturbed note in his tone, "Where did you get that?"

"I took it. The day after I left." Klaus admitted. He ran a hand through his hair. He'd felt immensely bad about leaving things like that with V and well, he knew about Ben's hopeless infatuation and had snapped it just in case. Just in case there was a slight, minuscule chance that V would never be in his or Ben's lives again. It hadn't been likely, since Klaus was pretty sure he was fabulous enough to win her over again, but he'd wanted to be sure.

And, of course, the picture would have been great fun to wave around in Ben's face. After all, it was a photo of V, through the kitchen window, clad only in a towel wrapped tightly around her. She was looking over her shoulder down at something behind her in the kitchen, damp hair swept over the other shoulder. The quality of the photograph made her image seem blurry and like something out of a dream, her eyes half closed and droplets of water glistening on her bare shoulders. Sure enough, Klaus grinned wickedly when he saw the dumbfounded expression on Ben's face.

"You realize that this makes you seem like a pervert, right?"

"Now see, Diego, that's just mean." Klaus spread his hands. "I consider myself an artist, a passionate photographer and—"

"It looks like this was taken with a disposable camera."

"—am offended that you would even consider calling me that, though yes, I am a deviant in many ways—"

Diego interrupted him again and Klaus shot his brother an indignant look.

"If this whole thing is true, how messed up are we that the only one of us in a relationship is Ben, who's _dead_?"

"Uh, rude."

"Sorry Ben, but it's true. Eudora is..._dead_, Allison's divorced, Klaus lost his boy in the Vietnam_ War_, only furries will be interested in Luther—Klaus's words, not mine—and Vanya nearly wrecked the world when that freak came into her life." Diego gestured vaguely at his siblings, ignoring the sounds of protests coming from all of them. "Last but not least, Five was in love with a fucking _mannequin_."

Five looked immensely offended and he stood up.

"You will not speak about Delores in such a boorish manner." He threatened. "I will _cut_ you."

Diego snorted loudly, "You could try."

It was Vanya who managed to diffuse the situation, because it looked quite like the two brothers were about to start throwing knives and other weapons around the house. She leaned forward curiously and addressed Ben, hands clasped between her knees. "What's she like?"

The room fell silent. Everyone waited expectantly for their brother's answer.

"She's..." Ben paused, as though he was struggling to find the right words to describe her with. "She's..."

Klaus sighed. This boy was hopeless.

"She saved my life."

All eyes turned to Klaus and he realized that his words sounded much more serious than he had intended. Good lord, he couldn't have them thinking he had changed _too_ much. That would take the fun right out of things. "...among other things. She makes the most amazing omelettes. Orgasms in the mouth, I tell you."

"Klaus, that's disgusting."

He simply sniggered and said, "We'll invite her over soon, won't we, Ben?

He saw the smile that lit up Ben's face, a smile that he knew his siblings hadn't seen in _years_. And deep in Klaus's heart, he was so _immensely_ grateful that V had taken him off the streets that day. His brother had a heart of _gold_, and only V could match that. She was the only one who deserved him. Not that he would ever tell those two that. They were disgustingly sweet together and Klaus liked to keep his stomach contents inside his gorgeous, exquisite body.

"Yeah, we will."

Allison looked at Ben and beamed, with what seemed to be tears welling up in her eyes. "I won't lie, it's a...strange situation but...I'm happy for you, Ben."

"Thanks, Allison."

An easy silence fell over the dinner table, each sibling taking the time to process all the new information, at least until a voice piped up again.

"She _is_ pretty hot."

"...Five, _stop_."


End file.
